PORTLAND, Ore. – Once Loyola Marymount beat the buzzer to level the score going into halftime, the second half was all LMU. The Lions (17-8, 5-6 WCC) topped Portland (7-19, 0-11 WCC), 72-55, on Saturday night.
 
"They struggled with our zone defense, so we didn't use it until the second half," said Head Coach Mike Dunlap. "We took good care of the ball and outrebounded them in the second half. All those factors helped. I thought Joe Quintana's threes really loosened us up. Obviously James Batemon had a huge second half, and Petr Herman came off the bench and we again had great bench contributions."
 
Petr Herman started the game 2-for-2, bringing him to 7-for-7 over the last two games. Those first two baskets were part of a 9-0 run that erased the deficit and put LMU ahead 18-14. Herman later tied the game at 24-all as Batemon found him for a layup as time expired to end the first half.
 
After Portland pushed ahead to start the second half, Eli Scott hit back-to-back layups and a breakaway slam to push the Lions ahead, 32-29 with his personal 6-0 run. Joe Quintana added a triple to the end of that to make it nine unanswered and push LMU ahead six with 13:41 to play. Quintana ended the game with 11 points after going 5-for-6 from the line.
 
That turned into an extended 19-2 run over a seven minute stretch, with eight seven unanswered for Batemon including a pair of breakaway slams. Batemon finished with a game-high 28 points, two off his career high.

Portland did not hit a field goal for over nine minutes as LMU pushed it to a 20 point game, 53-33, the largest margin of the game. The Pilots showed their fight, responding with a 7-0 run to cut it down to a dozen with 6:08 to play and single digits with 3:02 on the clock.
 
LMU outscored the Pilots 20-0 on points off turnovers, and was one steal off the season high mark with 10. Batemon and Quintana added three steals apiece.
 
The Pilots attempted just 41 shots, the fewest of any opponent this season.
 
The Lions return home for the biggest homestand of the season next week. The Lions face the conference leaders in first-place Gonzaga on Thursday night at 8 p.m. and second-place BYU Saturday night at 1 p.m.